Painting photoetched parts

I normally paint these parts on the sprue, especially the Instrument panel. I have found they can be brushed or airbrushed and you can use Enamels or Acrylics. I know a lot of people say you should always prime metal parts first. I never have and don't have a problem, but if you want to be sure, you could prime them.

I am one who always primes PE with a good metal primer.  I use a spray can (Krylon primer).  I prime the whole fret at once. If most of the parts will be a single color, as in many ship PE fittings, I then airbrush that color over the whole fret.  Then I brush paint any that are a different color.  With flat paints the PE parts are very small and do not show brush marks.  Even with gloss paint a very small PE part doesn't show brush marks with careful painting. It is unusual I must resort to airbrush for single PE parts.

BTW, even with a good metal primer I find paint adhesion to brass is not that great. If you have to bend any PE parts the bending frequently chips off paint.  However, it is easy enough to touch the small chip areas.

A trick that works pretty well for me is to dip the brass fret into a cup of vinegar for a few seconds and then rinse the fret in running cold water.  That will etch the brass giving the paint something to grip.

Along time ago, we used that method to prep air tankers  for painting.  It was quicker than sanding (plus the FAA has a screaming hemorrhage if you sand on an aircraft for any reason other than corrosion removal!).

I soak the parts in vinegar for about 1 hr. then paint whatever color you need. enamel works best for this next bit.

Pre-heat your oven to  140 -160 % and cook the parts for about an hour.

This will cause fumes so get permission from S.W.Y.M.O.  

I have never had paint come off of a part treated this way.

as i paint with acrylics i prime mine with inexpensive ACE HARDWARE NOW primer. sometimes i paint on the sprue, other times after the model or the major subassemblies are together.

Does dipping the photoetched parts in vinegar erase the part numbers onthe frets?

Not if the numbers are etched on the fret